One former Dolphins assistant just landed with an AFC East rival, extending a quietly growing pipeline from Miami to a division opponent
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Some things may never change between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets.
This AFC East rivalry has had plenty of heated moments and big games. But as of late, the pipeline from Miami to New York on the coaching front is becoming an undeniable trend. Remember when Adam Gase was dismissed and landed immediately in New York? This year, we’ve already seen the migration once. Defensive assistant Brian Duker was hired from Miami to serve as Aaron Glenn’s defensive coordinator. And now Glenn has gone back to the well once again — tapping another Dolphins assistant from the discarded coaching staff and fueling a sibling rivalry in the process.
Jets hire another former Dolphins assistant, fuel a sibling rivalry in the process with Ryan Slowik
The Slowik family rivalry will be renewed in 2026 after both Ryan Slowik, the new Jets assistant, and his brother Bobby both spent the 2025 season on Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins staff. Bobby, of course, was promoted to offensive coordinator under Jeff Hafley. After helping to test Miami’s mettle internally at practice this past year, the brothers will now get a chance to lock horns twice in 2026 when the Dolphins and Jets take each other on for their obligatory AFC East matchups.
Ryan’s coaching journey to New York through Miami is a fascinating one — he spent time with the Broncos, Cardinals, Jets, and Browns in the mid-2000s and early 2010s before dropping down to the University of Tennessee in 2017, a year at Webb School of Knoxville in 2019, and then a return to the Dolphins in 2022. He spent four seasons on McDaniel led staffs coaching a variety of position groups.
The bad news for Miami is that Ryan Slowik is plenty familiar with the Dolphins. The good news is the secondary should look quite different in 2026 — and Miami’s own Slowik is plenty familiar with his brother, too.
Miami Dolphins News
The Dolphins caught the wave early on one of the NFL’s fastest-spreading coaching trends this offseason
Hafley was ahead of the curve.
